The Austro-Prussian War could be considered the only major event prior to the Spanish Revolution.
Carlo’s suggestions achieved great results, and the harvest was that going forward, Victor Emmanuel II paid much more attention to Carlo’s ideas and permitted him greater autonomy.
For Carlo, the most important thing right now was to find some capable subordinates, so at the very least, he wouldn’t have to do everything himself.
Although the royal palace had attendants he could order around, they were ultimately his father Victor Emmanuel II’s servants, and their loyalty might not pass the test.
With Carlo’s identity, it wasn’t appropriate for him to get acquainted with high-ranking military officials and generals, but it was fine to befriend some peers at the military academy.
Aside from Ricciotti, who went to the Turin Military Academy with Carlo, the only peers Carlo could consider himself familiar with in the entire academy were Andrew Rosso from the infantry major and Carman Esposito from the artillery major.
These two guys were similar in age to Carlo and were his best companions in the entire military academy.
Andrew Rosso was a short, chubby guy.
Although he looked honest and straightforward on the outside, he had plenty of crooked ideas, and Carlo valued his agile mind and wild imagination.
Carman Esposito was the complete opposite; tall and thin, looking malnourished.
If Carlo hadn’t known that Carman’s background meant he wouldn’t go hungry, he would have suspected the guy was starving himself thin all day.
The chubby and skinny duo, plus Ricciotti, who was already in his twenties, were the temporarily reliable assistants in Carlo’s plan.
The backgrounds of the “fat and thin heavenly kings” were trustworthy.
Both were Savoyards whose families had moved to Turin after the Savoy region was ceded to France.
Both Savoy and Turin were base camps for the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was why the two could enter the Turin Military Academy.
Carlo’s attire and temperament were completely different from ordinary academy students.
Perhaps the two noticed some clues, but they had a tacit understanding to keep quiet about it.
After all, if Carlo wanted them to know, he would naturally tell them.
Since he hadn’t told them yet, it naturally wasn’t time for them to know.
After the Austro-Prussian War ended, Carlo’s daily itinerary became very simple.
Aside from occasionally checking with Loren on the newspaper’s layout and development, Carlo spent most of his time traveling between the military academy and the Turin Royal Palace.
Occasionally, he’d invite Andrew, Carman, and Ricciotti for gatherings.
Life, while not thrilling, was still quite enjoyable.
During his continuous military academy studies, Carlo also discovered the only possible change in himself from transmigrating to now: a tremendous improvement in his physical fitness.
The previous body had been sickly, frequently suffering major illnesses and constantly battling minor ones.
But since Carlo arrived in this world, not only had his health completely recovered, he had even become somewhat robust through the military academy’s training.
Carlo’s three meals a day had never been meager.
Not lacking nutrition, although Carlo was only 15 years old, his height had reached 1.7 meters, which could be considered standardly tall.
Add to that his handsome appearance, the noble temperament of a royal family member, and his multi-talented wealth, Carlo became the object of adoration for a bunch of Italian noble young ladies.
If it weren’t for the fact that this body was still too young, Carlo wouldn’t have been able to resist the flirtatious glances from these noble ladies.
But flirting aside, Carlo wanted to carefully consider the candidate for his future wife.
Although the West didn’t engage in sky-high bride prices, it was undeniable that a good wife could bring immense benefits.
The country behind his wife would also be Carlo’s aid, and Carlo preferred to choose a princess from Germany or Russia, which were more powerful nations.
As for the current European hegemon, France, it was not within Carlo’s consideration.
If the Franco-Prussian War developed as it did in history, the French royal family wouldn’t exist for many more years.
The study period at the Turin Military Academy was 3 years, after which one could basically enter the Italian Army as a lower-ranking officer.
Of course, if one entered the Turin Military Academy for advanced studies as an active-duty officer or soldier, they could graduate in just two years, and their military rank would be elevated by at least one level.
Carlo naturally belonged to the first method.
Enrolling in 1866 meant he would have to wait until 1869 to graduate.
But this didn’t conflict with Carlo’s plans.
After all, the Spanish Revolution broke out in 1868, and it wouldn’t be until after the fall of the First Spanish Republic that the monarchy would be restored in Spain.
Graduating from the military academy in 1869 still left Carlo with a year.
By the time Amedeo historically became the King of Spain, Carlo would also be 19 years old, fitting the criteria for Spain’s selection of a king.
Amidst the busy life at the military academy, time passed quickly.
On May 30, 1867, Carlo attended the wedding of his older brother Amedeo and Maria Vittoria dal Pozzo and presented them with gifts.
Marriages between European royal families in this era were quite chaotic.
If Carlo remembered correctly, his older brother Amedeo’s second wife would be his own sister’s daughter, Maria Letizia Bonaparte.
Nothing major happened in 1867, but the international scene in 1868 was very lively.
First, U.S.
President Andrew Johnson became the first president in American history to be impeached by Congress, but he luckily escaped conviction by a single vote and remained in the presidential seat.
Compared to this lucky U.S.
President, Queen Isabella II of Spain was not so fortunate.
As the first generation “Empire on which the sun never sets” to exit the historical stage, Spain’s decaying monarchic rule had resulted in an extremely severe polarization.
The noble class was extravagant and wasteful, making fortunes in railway and real estate investments.
A residence built in Madrid by a mere Andalusian guard was mockingly referred to by the public as being covered in inlaid diamonds, demonstrating the luxurious life of the Spanish noble class.
But in stark contrast was the hard life of the Spanish peasant and worker classes.
Peasants only had land use rights but no ownership rights, and the terrible economy led to the continuous collapse of Spanish factories.
Impoverished peasants and workers launched protests and uprisings time and time again, only to be brutally suppressed by the Spanish government, yet the public’s anger was constantly accumulating.
Finally, the anger was ignited.
In September 1868, exiled military officers led by Francisco Serrano and former deputy Juan Bautista Topete led their supporters in launching a larger-scale uprising.
Because it broke out in September, this revolution was also called the Glorious Revolution or September Revolution by the Spanish people.
The decaying kingdom’s government was completely unable to suppress the explosive revolution.
Peasants and workers actively joined the uprising, sweeping across more than half of Spain in a short period of time.
More fatally, Queen Isabella II’s control over the military was not perfect either.
The soldiers had absolutely no favorable impression of this absurd and promiscuous Queen.
Mass defections of government troops accelerated the progress of the Spanish Revolution, and the Kingdom of Spain perished.
(END CHAPTER)